Cutting the Strings
by TR16
Summary: .:Dedicated to Cake-Is-Life:. Ulrich's father has always been controlling Ulrich's life. Trying to get Ulrich to be like him. But when he pulls Ulrich out of Kadik to take him back home, can Ulrich take any more of it? Major UxY. Minor JxA. PLZ R&R!


**Hello! Firstly, I wanna' say that I'm dedicating this story to my OBF clowny4evur****. This idea has been in my head actually for about a week, and I'm finally just taking the time to write it out. The story was inspired by the song "A Perfect Person" by Hoobastank, though it's not a songfic. I'm no good at writing those. And it is rated T because of minor language. So I hope you enjoy!**

_**Disclaimer: **__**Sadly, I do not own Code Lyoko. =( I can just hear that little voice in the back of my head saying "Awwww…"**_

* * *

**Cutting the Strings**

"Dad, you're not thinking this through enough!"

"I've thought it through plenty! You're grades are just plain horrible, that's all there is to it. I don't care how much you complain or argue with me, you're coming home to live with us and go to a special school."

"Listen, I've just been a bit busy, lately. I can get my grades up, easy!"

"You've been _busy_ for two years! I've had enough of it. And do you know how many times you've told me that you can get your grades up, _easy_? Well why hasn't it happened? If you haven't done it all the times you've told me you will, why should I believe that you will this time?"

"I'm not coming home. You can't make me."

"Yes I can. I'm your rightful owner and guardian and most of all…I'm your father. And you _will_ do what I say."

"This is pathetic."

"No, what's pathetic are your grades. Your mother and I will be at Kadik tomorrow morning at ten. I expect to see you out at the front gate with all your stuff at the exact time we pull up."

"And if I'm not?"

"You won't be saying home, sweet, home when we get back."

"I wasn't planning on doing that anyway."

"I will see you tomorrow morning. Ten. Goodbye."

Without answering he immediately pressed the red END button and threw his phone onto his bed.

* * *

"Hey, has anyone seen Ulrich?" Aelita asked, placing her tray full of food on the cafeteria table and sitting down next to Jeremie.

"Nope. I haven't seen him since chemistry class, actually," Jeremie answered.

"Diddo," Odd agreed from the seat across the table from Aelita.

"It's strange for him not to come to dinner," Aelita stated, stabbing her fork into one of the many meatballs on her tray.

"He skips dinner all the time, what are you talking about?" Odd asked. "Now, see, it's strange for _me_ to skip _any_ meal, let alone dinner."

"That is true, but ever since we shut down the Super Computer a week ago he hasn't had any reason to skip dinner. And he hasn't."

"Maybe he's studying," Jeremie suggested. "We do have that huge test in algebra tomorrow afternoon."

"Maybe he's sulking over something," Odd added. "Maybe his parents called and told him that his pet turtle ran away," he snorted. Jeremie chuckled.

"And maybe he's just trying to stay away from you so he doesn't have to hear your annoying little voice. Especially when it says rude comments like that."

Aelita abruptly stood up and walked away from the table, not bothering to pick up her tray. She knew that Odd would eat whatever was left on it. She exited the cafeteria and made her way over to the dormitory building. If Ulrich wasn't at dinner he was usually in his and Odd's dorm room.

"Where are going Miss Stones?" Jim stopped her halfway through the large empty courtyard. "It's the middle of dinner."

"I'm going back to my dorm," Aelita answered, completely cool and calm. "There's this huge algebra test tomorrow that I need to study for."

"Oh, um, well alright," Jim said, stepping aside and letting her continue towards the dorms. "Study hard, now!" he called after her. She grabbed the handle, pushed down on it, and pulled the large door open. She walked into the welcoming entry room, and over to the staircase that led up to the dorms. She pushed through the blue doors on the second floor and made her way towards the ever so familiar dorm room that Ulrich and Odd shared.

"Ulrich! Ulrich, are you in there?" she asked through the door while knocking lightly on the painted wood. She got no answer, so she pressed down on the handle. It didn't go down, so it was revealed to be locked.

"Ulrich, I know how to get into your dorm even when it's locked!" Aelita yelled. As she yelled it she realized for the first time how weird it was that she knew how to do that. She continued to stand there, but after a few silent seconds the door unlocked from the inside and Ulrich appeared in the open doorway.

"Why didn't you answer me?" Aelita asked him.

"Not really in the mood for talking," he said in an even tone. He sounded like a robot, and that worried Aelita.

"What's wrong?" she asked, walking into the room with him. He closed the door again and sat down on his bed next to the large green suitcase he had sitting there. "Or, more importantly, why are you packing all of your stuff into suitcases?" Aelita added, noticing the other green suitcase leaning against the open cabinet at the foot of Ulrich's bed.

"Not really in the mood to talk about it," Ulrich said robotically. Aelita looked back at her friend and noticed the look of sadness and pain on his face.

"Ulrich, what is going on?" she asked hardly. Ulrich looked right into her eyes, then turned his gaze back to the floor.

"My father got another report card and saw my grades. He's not too happy," Ulrich muttered. "And…well…he and my mom are making me leave Kadik to go back home and live with them."

"What?!" Aelita shrieked. "They can't do that! Can they do that?!"

"Yeah, Aelita, they can," Ulrich answered, still in that robotic voice. Aelita's mouth was hanging open widely. "And they'll be here tomorrow morning at ten to pick me up."

"This…isn't right! You must have heard wrong, or something!"

"I heard perfectly clear…and right. They're taking me back to Germany."

"You're German?" Aelita asked.

"You didn't know that?"

"Um…well…no. If you're German, than why are you going to a school in France?"

"Why is Yumi, who's Japanese? And Odd, who's Italian I'm pretty sure."

"What about Jeremie?"

"This is his home. He's French. Why are we discussing this? The point is, I'm being taken to Germany and I'll never be seen here again. My dad never has liked this school. Neither of my parents have. It was my Aunt June who convinced them to let me attend, since she had attended here when she was my age."

"If they didn't like the school, why'd they agree to pay for you to attend?" Aelita asked, sitting down next to him on the side that wasn't occupied by a suitcase.

"They haven't been paying for me," Ulrich said, looking over at her. "Like I said earlier, my aunt is who convinced them to let me come. She couldn't convince them to pay for me, so she's been paying. She's never come to visit me here, though. I don't know why. She usually sends me a letter once every week but I haven't gotten one for two weeks."

"You like her more than you like your parents?" Aelita questioned in a quiet voice.

"Much, much more. She's actually been nice, and supportive of me. My parents just want me to be what they want me to be. I can't ever do anything I wanna' do. Lyoko was a huge break from all of that, because it let me be who _I_ wanted to be. And my parents could do nothing about it.

"But when my dad found out that I was playing soccer, he almost forgot about the school that I was attending, and focused on the sport. He's always been a fan of soccer, and was the best player on his team when he was my age. So he took it seriously and-"

"Wanted you to be the best like he had been?" Aelita finished. Ulrich nodded.

"He wanted me to be just like him. He always has. And I'm sick of it."

The two of them sat in silence, Ulrich staring angrily at the floor and Aelita looking sympathetically at Ulrich. She suddenly wrapped her arms around him and pulled him into a hug. Ulrich returned the hug, and actually felt tears come to his brown eyes.

"Ulrich, wherever you go, whatever you do, you must always remember that your friends will always be there for you. And we'll be here until we graduate, so you can always come and visit…"

"My dad won't permit that," Ulrich said, hearing the choked back tears in his voice. "He already told me that it was forbidden for me to come back here, even for as short as an hour."

"We can come visit you," Aelita suggested.

"Not a smart idea," Ulrich replied, pulling out of the hug. "Dad doesn't like the "rotten friends" I hang out with." Aelita looked hard as his face as he looked at the blanket on his bed.

"Well, he'll just have to deal with it. We're not going to let you just leave and never see you again. If he thinks that's what's going to happen, he might as well just leave you here."

Ulrich smiled and looked up into her green eyes. Aelita returned the smile, but after a few seconds Ulrich stood up from the bed.

"Well, I need to finish packing so…it was nice talking with you, Aelita." Aelita immediately noticed the robotic sound return to his voice.

"Um, ok," she said, standing up as well. "Do you mind if I tell Jeremie and Odd? Or would you like to break it to them?"

"You can go ahead and tell 'em. I don't feel like bumming more people out."

Aelita watched as he grabbed a tiny box wrapped like a present from in one of the drawers underneath his bed.

"What's that?" Aelita asked him.

"The last thing I need to take care of before I leave tomorrow," he answered, staring at the little wrapped box. "I just remembered that I'm already completely packed." He flashed a quick little smile in Aelita's direction, then turned his gaze back to the box.

"Does that mean you'll come down to the cafeteria with me?" Aelita asked hopefully. Ulrich placed the box on his bed and stood up.

"I will only leave this dorm room one more time, and that will be tomorrow morning at nine thirty," he told her. He turned and grabbed the green suitcase that was by the cabinet and heaved it up on top of the suitcase on his bed. He then proceeded to close the empty cabinet.

"That's…understandable…" Aelita mumbled. "I'll, see you tomorrow morning then."

"Make sure Jeremie and Odd know when to be out there so I can say good bye to them, too."

"Odd shares your room. You won't talk to him?"

"I'll be asleep before he gets here tonight, and tell him _not_ to wake me up or he'll get it, and I'll be outside before he's up tomorrow."

"What about Yumi?" Ulrich sighed.

"I'll tell her," he said. "She deserves to know from me."

"And Jeremie and Odd don't?" Aelita asked.

"Please, Aelita, don't get me started on something like that. Just, please go tell them so I can call Yumi and talk to her alone."

"O…k…" Aelita said. She grabbed the door handle and pushed it down, pulling the door open. "I'll see you tomorrow."

"For the last time," Ulrich said. Aelita gave him a sad and painful look before closing the door and heading back to the cafeteria.

Ulrich reached his hand into the pocket of his jeans and grabbed his cell phone. He pulled it out and instantly went to the contacts list. When he found the number he wanted he pressed the green CALL button and put the phone to his ear. One ring…two rings…

"Hello?"

"Hey Yumi, it's me. I have something important I need to talk to you about."

* * *

"Hey Aelita," Odd greeted when I sat back down at the table. "Judging by the amount of time you were gone I'm guessing you found him."

"Yes, I found him. He's in your dorm room…talking to Yumi on the phone."

"Oooo! What's he talking to her about?"

"The same thing I'm about to tell you guys. He's telling her about how's he's leaving tomorrow."

"Leaving to go where? Bowling?" Odd gasped. "That selfish jerk, he didn't invite me! I need to go have a little word with him…"

"Odd, sit down," Aelita ordered. "Ulrich isn't leaving to go bowling tomorrow. He's going back to Germany to live with his parents."

"What?" Jeremie said. Aelita looked over at him.

"That's right. He's leaving Kadik tomorrow to live in Germany. His parents are forcing him to."

"They can't do that!" Odd screamed. "Can they do that?!"

"Apparently they can," Aelita answered, "since they are. Ulrich's already all packed up and everything and he's told me that there's nothing he can do to stay. His grades are just too bad."

"He's gotten them up since we shut down the Super Computer," Jeremie stated.

"Not up enough," Aelita said. "He doesn't have anything above a B minus."

"Hey, that's good for Ulrich, and shouldn't be bad enough that his parents can take him away," Odd said.

"And he doesn't have anything below a C minus," Jeremie added. "Remember when he had all D's and an F?"

"Yes, but that's what he told me is the reason that his father is taking him away," Aelita said. "There's nothing we can tell his parents or convince them of or anything. They'll be here tomorrow morning at ten to pick him up."

"This can't be possible," Odd whispered. "Ulrich can't leave. I'll get stuck with another roommate. What if it's a total nerd!"

"Odd, this is bigger than your roommate crisis," Jeremie said.

"Ulrich said that he'll be asleep before you're back in the room and not to wake him up or you're going to get it," Aelita said to Odd. "And he's not in a good mood right now, so I would listen to him. He said that he'll be outside at the front gate at nine thirty tomorrow morning, so if you wanna' say goodbye or anything that would be the time."

"I wonder how Yumi's taking the whole thing," Odd said.

* * *

"Goodnight Ulrich," Yumi said.

"Night."

Both hung up their phones at the same time, and Ulrich immediately pushed the two suitcases onto the floor, kicked his shoes off, and climbed under the covers of his bed completely dressed still.

Yumi threw her phone across her bedroom and tossed herself onto her bed. She buried her face in her pillow and began to cry. She couldn't believe what she had just heard. How in the world could he be leaving? This was going to change everything! Her world was going to fall apart! And how were the others going to react?

She didn't want to think about the subject, but the tears continued to come. She eventually cried herself to sleep.

Ulrich lied awake in his bed, and at ten o' clock he heard Odd's voice outside the door.

"…leaving…" he was grumbling. Ulrich closed his eyes and tried his best to look as asleep as he could. Odd walked into the dark room and the first thing he saw were the two suitcases laying on the floor. He closed the door and looked over to see Ulrich, asleep, in his bed.

"The last night you'll be sleeping here," Odd whispered. Ulrich held back the tears he felt coming, and continued his charade. "I'm gonna' miss you buddy," Odd said, then climbed into his own bed and faced away from Ulrich. Ulrich sleepily rolled onto his side so he was also facing away from Odd, and let the tears roll down his face and splash onto the pillow. He kept himself from sniffling because he knew that would give himself away, but he continued to let slow tears slide down onto the pillow until he finally actually fell asleep.

He woke up the next morning at eight o' clock. It was a Saturday, so the alarm hadn't gone off at six o' clock like it did on school mornings. He pushed his covers back and swung his legs over the side of the bed. He grabbed the clean outfit he had laid out to wear today and silently exited the room.

Aelita was also already up and in the shower. She was completely alone because every other girl was sleeping in since it was Saturday. There were no morning classes on Saturday, so everyone slept in.

Aelita finished rinsing herself off and then turned the shower off. She grabbed her pink towel and wrapped it around herself. She dried off her body and then wrapped the towel around her hair. She dressed herself and then removed the towel from her head and shook out her damp hair. She then exited the shower area and walked over to the sinks in the conjoining room. She brushed her teeth, splashed her face a few times with cold water, then walked out of the room.

"He's leaving," she kept whispering to herself as she walked back through the hallways and into her dorm room. She hung her damp towel on the hook in the wall on the side of the door and then slipped into the dark pink boots she wore every day. She then looked at the pink clock on the table next to her bed and saw that it was still only eight thirty. So she picked up a book, sat down on her bed, and started reading from where she had last left off.

Ulrich styled his brunette hair in the way he wore it every day before leaving the showers. He quietly snuck back into the dorm room to find Odd still fast asleep in his bed. Ulrich shut the door behind him, walked over to his two suitcases, and zipped one open to stuff the clothes he had worn yesterday inside of it. He closed it again and looked at the clock: eight forty-five.

"Great," he muttered. "An hour and fifteen minutes left at Kadik Academy." He sat down on his bed and merely stared at the cabinet at the end of it.

When nine fifteen rolled around Ulrich slowly climbed off of his bed and walked over to his suitcases. He picked one up in each hand, finding them both incredibly light. Then he walked over to the door, placed one suitcase on the floor, opened the door, and picked up the suitcase again to walk out. Out in the hall he put both suitcases on the floor before going back into the room. He walked to the desk on the far side of the room and grabbed the little wrapped box. When he had it in his hand he turned and walked out into the hallway again. He closed the door quietly, then he turned around to see Jeremie standing by his suitcases.

"Thought you might need some help," he said.

"They're really light," Ulrich replied. Jeremie picked up both suitcases and began to walk towards the doors at the end of the hallway. Ulrich held the small box in his hands tightly and he followed after his friend.

Aelita closed the book at nine twenty-five and rushed over to the door. She yanked it open and shut it quietly before running down the halls towards the stairs.

Odd woke up at nine twenty-five and pushed the covers off of him, jumping out of bed before they were completely off. His feet got tangled and he tripped onto the floor. He quickly got his feet out of the blanket, cursing quietly under his breath, and then stood back up again. He changed out of the clothes he had worn yesterday and slept in last night and into new, clean clothes. He didn't care what his hair looked like, but he popped a mint into his mouth before running out of the dorm.

Yumi was out of her house, running down the sidewalk, at nine-thirty. She ran as fast and as hard as she could so she would get to the school quick and get to spend as much time with Ulrich as possible.

"Thanks Jeremie," Ulrich said as they stopped at the front entrance.

"No problem," Jeremie responded, placing the suitcases on the sidewalk. "You were right: they were light." Ulrich smiled.

"Yeah. I didn't bring much to Kadik Academy, so I don't have that much to take back."

Jeremie looked to the ground, but looked back up when Odd and Aelita arrived together. Odd's hair was obviously not combed out, but it wasn't a giant mess. And both Ulrich and Jeremie could instantly tell that Aelita had taken a shower. A minute later Yumi arrived, completely out of breath. She got it back under control after about thirty seconds. The group of five were all together at the entrance at nine thirty-five, standing in a circle.

"Well, this is it," Ulrich said. "It's been great you guys, it really has. I'm going to miss all of you. No one can replace you guys."

"Lyoko's what's brought us all together," Yumi stated. "Lyoko's what has changed our lives forever."

Aelita was already in tears, Odd was staring at the ground, and Jeremie was grabbing his nose tightly.

"Lyoko was the greatest experience in my life, and so was meeting all of you," Ulrich said. "I'd actually like to thank XANA for being so unbeatable for such a long time."

"This can't be the end," Aelita said through her tears. "This just can't be."

"It's my fault," Ulrich said. "If I had just put more effort into my schoolwork my grades would be better and I'd be staying."

"Your grades aren't even _that_ bad! You're passing!" Odd said.

"I know. My father is just being ridiculous. He wants me to have straight A's like him."

"Well, you're not him! And he needs to realize that!" Aelita yelled. "You will never be exactly like him. I can't believe he's expecting you to be!"

"Doesn't matter. What's he thinks is what happens to me. Soccer was the only good thing that came from his mind. Everything has been damn hell."

"This isn't fair," Yumi said. Ulrich looked over at her, looked down at the box in his hands, and then back at her.

"Yumi, can I take you over here and talk to you alone for a little bit?" Ulrich asked. Yumi looked over at him.

"Of course," she said. Ulrich took her arm and led her over to a spot a few yards away from the other three.

"Five bucks says he's gonna' tell her his real feelings for her," Odd said.

"Well he only has fifteen minutes to do it," Jeremie said, looking at the watch on his wrist.

"What is it, Ulrich?" Yumi asked. Ulrich looked down at the box again.

"You remember that time when I forgot your birthday and you were angry with me and I got you a gift and everything was ok again?" Ulrich asked, not looking up from the box. Yumi raised an eyebrow.

"Uh, yeah. You mean the time when you got me a squeaky rubber bone."

"Yeah, well, see, I had no time to buy you a present because I had detention so Odd went out and ought you one for me and I guess he was buying Kiwi something at the same time and mixed up the gifts. The bone was for Kiwi, and this was for you."

Ulrich shoved the box towards her, and she looked down at it before taking it from his hands.

"And I know it's Japanese tradition not to open a present in front of the person who gave it to you, but I want you to open it now so I can see your reaction," Ulrich said. "Please open it."

Yumi looked at him, and then untied the bow on the top of the box. She ripped the paper on the top, then opened the box underneath. She reached into the box and grabbed a black string. She pulled the necklace out of the box and her face was full of surprise and happiness. She stared at the dark pink gem held in a gray encasement that was attached to the end of the string.

"Ulrich, it's beautiful," she said. Ulrich smiled.

"Do you want me to put it on you?" he asked.

"Sure."

Ulrich took the necklace and walked behind her. Yumi held up her short black hair even though she didn't really need to. He spread the necklace open and draped it around her neck, tying the string tightly at the back of her neck. He smiled before walking back out in front of her. She released her hair and grabbed the gem in her hand to look at it again.

"Wow," she said. "Thank you, Ulrich. Thank you so much."

"You're welcome. And, Yumi, there's something I need to tell you that I've wanted to you for a long time. And you need to know what it is before I leave. Yumi looked from the gem to Ulrich's eyes.

"Yes?" she asked.

"Yumi, I-"

A loud car horn filled the air, cutting Ulrich short. He turned to see his dad and mom in a yellow car at the gate. His dad looked very angry, and his mom was reading a magazine.

"It's only nine fifty-two," Ulrich said, looking at his cell phone. "They're early."

"Ulrich, tell me what you wanted to tell me," Yumi said, grabbing his arm and turning him back around to face her.

"Right," he said. "I-"

"Ulrich! Let's go!" his dad yelled from the open window of the car. Ulrich gritted his teeth. Then he calmed himself down enough to sincerely look Yumi in her eyes. He took her hands in his.

"Yumi, I love you," he told her. Her eyes immediately widened. "I've loved you ever since the first day I met you. I got jealous whenever another guy, especially William, ever started to try to hit on you. I'm sorry."

He pulled his hands away from hers, turned, and ran over to the car. Jeremie and Odd had already gotten his suitcases into the trunk, so he climbed into the backseat and shut the door. Yumi couldn't stop staring at him, even as the car started to move towards her. Ulrich looked out the window as he passed Aelita, Jeremie, and Odd, and then stared at Yumi when the car passed her. Yumi turned with the car as it passed, and didn't tale her eyes of Ulrich until the car was out of sight. She felt a hand on her shoulder, and Odd walked up to her side. Aelita and Jeremie walked up on her other side, and they all stared at the place the car last was.

"He's gone," Aelita said.

"Forever," Jeremie said.

"My roommate," Odd said.

"He loves me," Yumi stated.

"Five bucks, Jeremie," Odd said.

"I never bet you," Jeremie replied. "You just said I'll bet you. I never agreed."

"Gr," Odd said.

"Come on. Breakfast starts in five minutes," Jeremie said. Aelita, Odd, and Jeremie all turned and walked back towards the front gate, but it took Yumi a few seconds to turn and slowly follow them, clutching the gem in her hand the whole trip.

* * *

"Why do continue to hang out with those worthless kids?"

Ulrich's head was rested against the glass window and he was listening to his dad yell at him about everything wrong that Ulrich did in his life. He was only five minutes away from Kadik and he already wished that he was dead.

"What good are they for you? You shouldn't even have friends! That way you could focus more on your schoolwork and your soccer."

"Friendship is more important than both of those to me," Ulrich talked back.

"Ulrich!" his mom scolded.

"So, Dad gets to talk to me like I'm a piece of shit, and I can't say anything back to him?" Ulrich questioned angrily.

"You watch your mouth," his dad ordered. Ulrich rolled his eyes. "I can't believe I'm here anyway. If it wasn't for June you would never have gone to that retched school and we wouldn't be here. You'd be getting good grades and a good school and you wouldn't be hanging out with slobs like them."

"Shut up," Ulrich muttered.

"Your Aunt June was a crazy woman," he said. One word stood out against the others in that sentence to Ulrich: _was_.

"Was?" Ulrich asked, looking away from the window and up front towards his dad. "As in past tense? What happened to is?"

"Was is just another way to say is," his dad said. Ulrich narrowed his eyes in confusion, but sat back against his seat. He was turning his head back towards the window when he noticed the end of an envelope sticking out from underneath his mom's chair. He leaned down, grabbed the envelope, and pulled it out. He sat back up and dug his finger underneath the seal. Inside the envelope he found a piece of paper. He grabbed the paper and put the envelope in his lap. He unfolded the piece of paper and the first thing he noticed was that the date was for two weeks ago. Then he moved on to the writing.

_Dear Ulrich,_

_I'm glad that you're getting so good at soccer and Penchak Silat. But I have something I need to tell you that may upset you. I was diagnosed with cancer yesterday, and a bad case of it. The doctors predicted that I only have about a week left. I'm scared to leave this world, and I'm scared to leave you behind._

_But there's a bigger matter. If I die then no one is going to pay for you to stay at Kadik, and I know that your father will try to take you out of the school. So, I enclosed thirty thousand dollars to get you through to graduation. You can tell your father that you will pay for yourself. And I've also included a sheet of paper with your father and my signatures saying that you can choose either your father or I to be your rightful guardian. Even if I'm dead you'll be able to do what you want to do, and your father won't be able to do a thing about it._

_So have fun at Kadik sweetie. And remember this: I will always love you no matter what._

_Sincerely,_

_Aunt June_

Ulrich immediately looked back into the envelope and found another, rectangular piece of paper. When he brought it out he realized that it was a check for thirty thousand dollars. Ulrich's mouth dropped open, then his teeth gritted together and he looked up towards his father.

"You're not taking me home because of my grades!" Ulrich yelled. "You're taking me home because Aunt June died and can no longer pay for me!" He saw his dad's eyes widen in the mirror.

"How in the world do you-"

His dad looked into the mirror and saw the opened letter.

"You hid this letter from me because you knew it contained the money I needed to pay for myself!" Ulrich continued to yell. He stuffed the letter and the check back into the envelope. "Well, Aunt June is now my new rightful guardian! And I can do what I want to do!" Ulrich unbuckled his seatbelt, grabbed the door handle, and yanked the door open.

"Ulrich Stern!" his father yelled. Ulrich put the letter in his mouth and jumped out of the moving car. He jumped into the grass and dandelions that was growing on the side of the road. He got up and looked to see that the car had stopped and his dad was out of the car running towards him. Ulrich grabbed the letter in his hand and turned to try to run but his dad had already gotten to him. His firm hand landed on Ulrich's shoulder and turned him around hardly.

"You will not go back to that school!" he yelled.

"Yes I will, Dad! I have the power to choose my guardian, and I choose Aunt June! And she said in the letter that even when she's dead I can still do whatever I want to do! And _I_ want to go to Kadik, no matter what _you_ say!" Ulrich screamed back at him.

"You're not going anywhere I say you're not going to!"

"Dad, you need to realize that I'm not you!" Ulrich yelled. His dad's eyes widened. "And that I can't, and won't, be like you. Everyone is their own person and no parents can change who their kids are. And I'm done putting up with you trying to change who I am. You might hate Kadik, but I love it. You might hate my friends, but I love them. And that's all that matters to me. I'm cutting the puppet strings that you've attached to me."

Ulrich's dad stared into his son's eyes, and relaxed his grip on Ulrich's shoulder. Nothing was worse than having your son tell you what was what.

"So let go of me," Ulrich said, forcing his dad's hand off his shoulder, "and go on home. I never want to see you around _my_ school again."

With that, Ulrich turned away from his dad and ran back down the side of the road towards Kadik Academy, not caring that his two suitcases were still in the trunk of the car.

* * *

The group had decided to skip breakfast, and so they were all sitting on one of the benches in the large courtyard. William had tried to sit with them earlier, but they told him that they just wanted to be with each other. Nothing would make their day better, especially the huge algebra test Jeremie, Aelita, and Odd had coming up later. William was hanging over with Sissi by the vending machines when breakfast ended forty-five minutes later. It had been almost a whole hour since they had watched Ulrich leave with his parents, and none of them said barely anything to anybody. Yumi still clutched the gem tightly in her hand. After a few more seconds of pure silence for the group, Yumi stood up and walked over to a lonely tree in the middle of the courtyard. Odd got up to go talk to her, but Aelita stopped him.

"She needs to be alone for a little bit," she told him. Odd sat back down, and Yumi leaned back against the trunk of the tree, still holding onto the gem.

Ulrich ran down the sidewalk as fast as he could, and stopped to catch his breath in front of Yumi's house. After a minute he continued to run. He felt strong after yelling at his father like he had earlier, so it had only taken him half an hour to run the forty minutes in the car he had ridden. His Super Sprint on Lyoko had also helped in his speed, so it only took him two minutes to run a three-minute-run from Yumi's house to the entrance gate at the Academy. He waked into the courtyard and searched for Yumi, and he found her leaning against a tree.

"Yumi," he whispered to himself, and a smile appeared on his face. Then louder, "Yumi!" She looked up from the gem and across the courtyard to the direction from where her name had been called from. She saw someone standing by the front gate, and she instantly recognized the creamy brown hair and the dark green jacket he wore.

"Ulrich," she whispered, her eyes widening. Ulrich's smile grew larger, and he bolted off towards Yumi. A smile appeared on Yumi's face also when she was certain that the boy running towards her was the boy that had said, "I love you."

"Ulrich!" she yelled, and took one quick step to get out from underneath the tree. She exposed herself to the sunlight, which made Ulrich run even faster. When he reached her he grabbed the sides of her waist and lifted her into the air, spinning her in a circle happily. When he put her down she instantly attacked him with a tight hug, which he had to return.

"Ulrich, what are you doing here?" Yumi asked into his ear.

"I'll explain everything later. Right now I have another present for you," he replied. Yumi pulled out of the hug but kept her arms on his shoulders. Ulrich smiled and kept his arms on her waist. "But I have to know whether you'll except it," he told her. She raised an eyebrow in confusion. "Yumi, you know that I love you. And I need to know…"

"I do, Ulrich," Yumi told him. "I love you, too. Since the day I met you, I have." Ulrich smiled at her.

"Then you'll except my gift," he said. And he leaned forward, and softly pressed his lips against hers. Her eyes were wide for a second only before they closed and she kissed him back.

"Ah, love is a wonderful thing," Odd mused. Jeremie and Aelita looked at him strangely, but then turned their attention back to Yumi and Ulrich.

"Can we go and attack him now?" Odd asked, suddenly snapping out of his romantic attitude.

"Yeah, I think so," Jeremie said. Odd smiled and pushed himself to his feet. Jeremie jumped onto the ground and held his hand out to Aelita. She took it and Jeremie pulled her off the bench and to her feet. He then pulled her closer to him, and took her other hand.

"There's something I have for you first," he told her. Then he tenderly kissed her lips, and Aelita immediately began to kiss him back.

"Guys! Stop! It's attack-Ulrich time!" Odd complained. Both Aelita and Jeremie broke the kiss with their laughter. They smiled at each other again before running with Odd towards the two other lovebirds.

"Ulrich!" all three of them yelled happily. Ulrich broke out of the kiss with Yumi and looked towards them just as they all jumped on him, tackling him to the ground. Yumi burst into laughter.

"Ok, guys, you're gonna' suffocate me!" Ulrich yelled from underneath his friends. They all stood back up and Odd helped Ulrich back to his feet.

"I am so happy to see you again!" Odd yelled at him.

"I'd be happier to see you if all of my ribs were in one piece," Ulrich said, clutching his chest. Aelita giggled, and Jeremie wrapped his arm around her waist.

"What are you doing here?" Jeremie asked him. Ulrich pulled the letter out of a pocket on the inside of his jacket, opened it, and handed the note to Jeremie. He quickly read it, but at the pace that his eyes moved it looked like he was merely skimming the paper.

"That's incredible!" he exclaimed. "Did she actually leave thirty thousand dollars?" Ulrich smiled and pulled out the check to show him.

"Yup," he said. "Thirty thousand, right here."

"Do get you through to graduation?"

"Uh-huh."

"Wow. How do you have such a wonderful aunt but horrid parents?" Ulrich chuckled.

"I don't know. And Aunt June was my dad's sister. Must have been torture for her growing up."

"Well, I'm sorry for her passing," Jeremie said sympathetically.

"It's fine. Everyone has their time."

Jeremie gave the letter back to Ulrich, who stuck it back into the envelope with the check and put the envelope back into his jacket.

"So…you're attending Kadik until graduation?" Yumi asked hopefully. Ulrich looked at her and smiled.

"Yes," he said with confidence. "I will." He was suddenly smuggled into a hug from all four of his friends. He did his best to reach his arms up and hug them back, but he couldn't do a very good job. So He just stood there and let them all hug him. They pulled away from him about thirty seconds later.

"This is great!" Odd exclaimed. Ulrich wrapped his arm around Yumi's waist and they smiled at each other. Jeremie grabbed Aelita's hand and intertwined their fingers. "I don't have to get a new roommate!" Everybody looked at Odd's triumphant grin, then all burst into laughter.

"Wait, Ulrich, where are your suitcases?" Aelita asked.

"On their way to Germany," Ulrich answered. "I didn't take the time to grab them out of the trunk when I ran away."

"You ran away?" Jeremie asked, astonished.

"After jumping out of the car when it was going about thirty-five miles per hour."

"You jumped out of a moving vehicle!" Yumi exclaimed.

"Yeah. But I did it so I could be you. And you guys, too, just not as much."

"Thanks, Ulrich. That warms our hearts," Odd responded. Ulrich laughed. After his laughing died he looked back into Yumi's eyes and they smiled at each other again.

"Well, the important thing is, we're all back together again! The Lyoko Warriors will stand together forever! And there's so many things we have to do…" Aelita and Jeremie looked at Odd as he began to list things off. "…we have to dye all of Jim's underwear pink, we have to sneak into the principal's office and hide under his desk so when he's playing a game on his computer we can shut the computer down right when he's about to win…" Ulrich reached his hand up and grabbed the back of Yumi's neck softly. Then he leaned upwards and pressed his lips against hers yet again as Odd went on. "…and go onto the roof so we can dump a bucket of water balloons on Mrs. Hertz when she walks by, and dress Kiwi up like a ghost and freak some sixth graders out, and maybe even go bowling!"

* * *

**That would be the end! I really hope you liked it. I started it last night, worked on practically all day today, and just finished it. It's seven pm. So that means I've been working on this story for about…maybe ten hours. That's a lot, especially for me. Lol.**

**This story is also very long, especially for me. It is fourteen pages long on Microsoft Word in a font size of twelve. That is a lot of words and a lot of work! And you wouldn't believe how hot it is in my computer room. It's like an oven.**

**Anyway, I hope you enjoyed it. Especially you clowny4evur****. Thanks for being my totally awesome OBF. XD**

**And I really want you to read this cuz it kinda ticks me off. Why do people favorite a story, but don't take the time to leave a little review saying how they liked it? If you like the story enough to favorite it, you should like it enough to take a little time to leave a review telling me how you liked the story. I'm not trying to target anyone or make anyone mad or anything, it's just I would appreciate it if more people left reviews instead of JUST favoriting the story. So PLEASE LEAVE A REVIEW AND TELL ME WHAT YOU THINK! Thank you!**

**~Taylor**


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